Stan Palys
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Stanley Francis Palys (May 1, 1930 – February 8, 2021) was an American
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
. He was born in
Blakely, Pennsylvania Blakely is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 6,657 at the 2020 census. The Lackawanna River flows through Blakely, and within the bor ...
. He appeared in 138
games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...
over all or parts of four seasons in the majors, from 1953 through 1956, for the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
and Cincinnati Redlegs. He threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall and during his playing career.


Early life and education

Of Polish descent, Palys was born in a small town called
Blakely, Pennsylvania Blakely is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 6,657 at the 2020 census. The Lackawanna River flows through Blakely, and within the bor ...
on May 1, 1930. His parents, Genevieve and Francis, also gave birth to his three siblings, Mae, Henry, and Walter. In his high school career, he hit grew to a height of and a weight of . As one of the taller and more athletic students at his school, Palys was interested in playing
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
for th
Blakely Bears
the two-time undefeated champions of Eastern Pennsylvania at the time. However, Palys never ended up playing football in high school as his father, Francis, rejected the idea. Even after the coaches came to his house in desperation


Professional baseball career


Philadelphia Phillies

Stan Palys made his
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
debut in 1955 after the parent
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
brought him up to play with their professional team.


Cincinnati Redlegs

Of Polish descent, Palys signed with the Phillies before the 1950
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...
season and made his MLB debut in September 1953 after an All-Star campaign in the Class A
Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942, and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League ...
. After another late-season audition in 1954, he made the majors for the full 1955 and 1956 campaigns. After starting 15 April games as a
left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
and
right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
for the 1955 Phillies and batting .288 with 15
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, he was included in a six-player trade to Cincinnati on April 30 and became the Redlegs' semi-regular left fielder. He was plagued by injury, however, and batted only .230 for Cincinnati. The following year, 1956, saw the emergence of eventual
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
r
Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...
, who took control of the Redlegs' left-field job and was voted
National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...
. Palys played ten games in the outfield, 40 in all, and hit .226 in his last big-league season. He finished his MLB career with 79
hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
, including 17 doubles, ten
home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...
and 38
runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...
, batting .237 lifetime. Palys continued to play in the
minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
through 1963. He put up several seasons in the Double-A
Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...
, winning two batting titles (in 1957 and 1960). On July 7, 1963, while playing for the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders, Palys made the final out in a no-hitter thrown by Spokane Indians
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
Bob Radovich. With two out in the ninth inning, an Islander player, Ron Samford, drew a walk. Palys came in to run for Samford. The next batter hit a grounder to first and Palys danced up and down until the ball hit him in the leg. Under baseball rules, a base hit is recorded for the batter and the baserunner declared out if the latter is struck by a ball in fair territory.
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
president Dewey Soriano, who was in attendance that night, notified the press box that the final out was to be credited to the first baseman and that Palys' conduct constituted "unsportsmanlike play". (Apparently, no base hit was credited.) Palys then completed his professional career with four seasons (1964–67) in
Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...
, belting 66 home runs in 446 total games, including 25 during 1965. He died on February 8, 2021, at the age of 90.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palys, Stan 1930 births 2021 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Japan American people of Polish descent Baseball players from Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Birmingham Barons players Carbondale Pioneers players Charleston Senators players Cincinnati Redlegs players Corpus Christi Giants players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball outfielders Nashville Vols players Philadelphia Phillies players Schenectady Blue Jays players Spokane Indians players Syracuse Chiefs players Terre Haute Phillies players Tokyo Orions players 20th-century American sportsmen